On "60 Minutes" tonight, George Piro, the Arabic-speaking FBI agent who questioned Saddam Hussein for 7 months after his capture, said that Saddam craved Weapons of Mass Destruction because they gave him assurance that Iran would not invade Iraq. Also, that he wanted nothing to do with Al-Qaeda, and feared the radical Islamic group could bring down his regime.
These are both highly-rational beliefs. Islamic dictatorships have long feared Islamic radicalism, just as we in the west have feared radical movements. Syria has stomped such movements, so has Iraq. And till it was invaded, Iraq was in a battle for regional supremacy with Iran and Israel. Now it’s Israel and Iran in the pit. Iran uses its catspaw, Hezbollah. Israel uses its, the U.S.!
Realist international relations theory says that countries exist in a constant state of tension, anxiety and threat, and seek to arm themselves to gain hegemony so that others can’t destroy them. Israel’s desire for nuclear weapons destabilized the region in the 1960s, leading (according to credible historians) to the showdown with Egypt that preceded the Six-Day War. Iran’s desire for nukes is now ratcheting up fears throughout the region. It is hardly surprising to learn that Saddam had prosaic reasons for wanting WMD–not to wipe anyone off the map. We and the Soviets wanted them for the same reason, to maintain a balance of power. The "60 Minutes" piece was a great one. It showed that for all his murderous tyranny, Saddam was motivated in normal ways. The way for the U.S. to respond to these strains is not to take sides or invade Arab countries, but to try and lower the general temperature in the region.
Related posts:
- The new Jewish realist conventional wisdom, on dual loyalty and Iran
- Hosni Begat Gamal. Saddam Begat Qusay. And Norman Begat John
- WINEP Says, Striking Iran Won’t Cause Gas Prices to Go Up. Oh, and Most Iranians Would Welcome Invasion!
- Friedman hints at bombing Iran
- How Neocons (and Neolibs) Dismissed the Prospect of Sunni-Shi’ite Conflict in Iraq
{ 11 comments }
I remember seeing on TV that on the day the US launched its invasion of Iraq Saddam Hussein called George W. Bush "crazy."
He was right on the money.
Michael Blaine
http://www.rudelystamped.blogspot.com
I should clarify:
On or about the day of the invasion I wathced on CNN an address to Iraqis given by Saddam Hussein in which the Iraqi dictator called our president "crazy."
I could not have agreed more with that particular, an astute observation on the part of the tyrant.
Michael Blaine
http://www.rudelystamped.blogspot.com
A new book shows Saddam did support al Qaeda and the Taliban:
'Both In One Trench: Saddam's Secret Terror Documents'
http://www.bothinonetrench.com
Well I guess Michael Blaine has come clean now.My condolences on the death of your leader.
You know, David, I expected a comment like that.
But I'll agree with anyone who calls the incumbent president "crazy", "incompetent", "sadistic", "catastrophic", "reckless", etc.
On that score, the messenger is irrelevant. What matters is the truth.
Michael Blaine
http://www.rudelystamped.blogspot.com
I believe it's called Bush Derangement Syndrome (BDS). It's when blinding hatred of the President turns one into a moral idiot.
Because Americans are not allowed know how the rest of the world feels about the Palestinians, it's not widely known that Saddam's last public words, as he was being sentenced to hang, were:
"Long live the nation! Long live the people! Long live the Palestinians!"
http://www.nytimes.com/2006/12/31/world/middleeast/31gallows.html?ex=1325221200&en=472d36ebe903eabd&ei=5088&partner=rssnyt&emc=rss
Watching 60 Minutes tonight reminded me of Saddam's execution and the words of his shia executioners and their exultations for Moqtada al-Sadr.
We, the United States, traded a despotic maniac (Saddam) for a homicidal mullah (Mookie al-sadr). For this, we have spent almost a trillion dollars and 4000 dead Americans. This whole Iraq war is a fucking nightmare.
"This whole Iraq war is a fucking nightmare."
It's not all bad from an Israeli-centric point of view. One more independent power in the region gone, American troops stuck nearby for the foreseeable future, and an American public conditioned to think of Israel's enemies as their own. It was not for nothing that Benjamin Netanyahu first coined the term "War on Terror".
you should be completely delusion to actually believe yourselve the US to be a "catspaw" of Israel.
Look at the evidence. The US demand for Israel to withdraw to pre-67 borders. This has been their continuous forceful relentless demand from since, well, 1967. The demand detrimental to the very existence of Israel, and bringing with it, most certainly, the next war of extermination if accomplished.
How's that a "catspaw"?
They destroyed Saddam in order to be able to FORCE Israel into the said withdrawal, aka the "piece-by-piece process", as per the "road to Jerusalem leading through Bagdad" theory. But they went into Iraq with insufficient forces, sure to bring the instability and with it the empowerment of islamist fanatics. They cleared the one real opponent of the Iranian regime, now giving them free reign in the region – for free. All to the detriment of Israel.
How's that a "catspaw"?
Today the US support, finance, train and equip the forces of the PLO which now demand in addition to this that Israel let 4 million enemy population in. This also in the Arab "PEACE" initiative, which the US support. To the detriment of Israel's very existence.
How's that a "catspaw"?
More, the US now apparently engage in intelligence fabrication as per peace-loving nature of the mad mullahs dictatorship of Iran, making it all but impossible, politically, any forceful action for nuclear prevention there. If Israel does it, it'll be branded an agressor.
How's that being a "catspaw" of Israel?
They consistently stifled the Israeli military industrial development, killing the Lavi project, killing the sales of Israeli-developed radar to China while selling the most dangerous weapons to Saudi (which ARE STILL in the state of war, officially, with Israel – not like China vs the US in the slightest). Now they won't even sell the F-22 to Israel, while Turkey is apparently OK.
How's that ?
"The US demand for Israel to withdraw to pre-67 borders."
You looked at a map lately, aargh?
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